Leaders Clash on New Mexico School Spending

As the sixth week of a public education funding lawsuit comes to a close on Friday in Santa Fe, both sides are adamant: New Mexico’s schools say the state needs to spend more on public education. The state says schools just need to spend smarter. New Mexico places 48th in U.S. News Best States for education rankings. The state’s high school graduation rate of 71 percent in 2016 was a record high for New Mexico, but still significantly lower than the national average, and New Mexico students have some of the worst reading and math scores in the nation.